England are being ‘cruel’ to Zak Crawley by continuing to put him in the firing line in Test cricket.
Crawley cut a forlorn figure as he trudged back to the pavilion for just 13 in England’s second innings at Lord’s.
He had somehow survived the opening burst from Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi, but barely gave himself a chance against Keshav Maharaj, trying to sweep his 3rd ball and missing. It was a shot of poor judgement by Crawley, but that has been the hallmark of his summer so far.
The England opener hasn’t passed fifty in 24 innings since May for any of the three teams he has played for across three formats.
Yet despite his obvious failings, England could not have been more supportive, by continuing to back him while gushing about the 46 he scored against India as if it were more influential than Jonny Bairstow’s twin hundreds.
And former England opener Mark Butcher reckons the management may be taking the wrong approach to Crawley who looks certain to keep his spot for the next Test at Old Trafford.
“Runs are a batsman’s currency and he is making any for anybody,” said Butcher. “It doesn’t matter who he is playing for either Kent or England, he isn’t scoring any runs.
“It is starting to feel cruel to keep putting him in the firing line. He is being constantly backed and patted on the back, but it is not doing him any good. If anything it could be doing more harm than good.
“At some point you’ve got to realise that he needs to be left out for his own good. He is only 24 so if he doesn’t play for a while it isn’t terminal, he can come back once he’s worked a few things out.”
